Nusbaum confirms she'll run in Cowles recall race

Nancy Nusbaum, the former Brown County executive and a 2006 primary candidate for Congress, says she'll announce Tuesday that she's running in a recall election against state Sen. Rob Cowles (R-Green Bay).

She'll make the announcement at noon in De Pere, according to the state Democratic Party.

The news came after another Democrat, Rich Langan, said he was withdrawing from the race because of a family tragedy.

Langan wouldn't initially confirm that Nusbaum was a candidate, but he said that his running would have been a challenge because a nephew of his had been in a serious motorcycle accident the weekend before last in De Pere, and his family needed his help with that.

Over the weekend, Langan said, "All of a sudden a very strong, top-tier candidate called me up and said if I needed to step down that person was ready to step up."

Nusbaum confirmed Langan's account and pointed out that she had been on Langan's steering committee, and now he's her campaign treasurer.

"We all have one goal in mind," she said: "to take the Senate back for the Democrats and get Wisconsin back on course."

Cowles is one of six Republican and three Democratic state senators against whom recall petitions have been filed with the state in the battle over Gov. Scott Walker's budget initiatives. The state Government Accountability Board is scheduled to meet next week to start deciding whether to set elections in any or all of the nine recalls.

Cowles has served in the Senate for 24 years. He issued a statement wishing Langan well with his family situation, but couldn't immediately be reached for comment Monday evening on Nusbaum's announcement.

“As the summer heats up, unfortunately, I expect more negative attacks from my opponents," he said in the statement. "I, however, remain focused on policies that will help create jobs, and on balancing the state budget without raising taxes."

Nusbaum, 64, was Brown County executive from 1995 to 2003, and after that served two years as director of the Office of Crime Victim Services in the state Justice Department. She was mayor of De Pere from 1988 to 1995.

She was defeated in a primary election for an open congressional seat in 2006. The winner, Democrat Steve Kagen, went on to serve two terms before being defeated in 2010 by Republican Reid Ribble. She said she's been retired since then.

Langan was a Brown County supervisor from 2008 to 2009, leaving because of health issues. He was defeated in 2006 in a race against then-state Rep. Phil Montgomery (R-Ashwaubenon).